Nov. 29, 2012
|

'There's nothing to fear about death.' / Yagi Studio / Getty Images

Written by

Cheryl Alkon

Neurosurgeon and former Harvard Medical School professor Eben Alexander lived his life and his career by straight science. But after a near-death experience, he struggled to reconcile his scientific past with his newfound spirituality. His book, Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey Into the Afterlife, details his journey.

Don’t fear death. While he was in a coma, his soul communicated with the Creator, Alexander says. Now, “there’s nothing to fear about death — it’s a transition and we encounter beautiful comfort.”

Educating others. “People I used to see as a nemesis in my life, I now see them much more completely for the soul they are--they’re here to help me learn lessons from, just as I’m here to help others learn,” he said. “People who are egotistical or skeptical, it’s much clearer to me why they are manifesting these traits.” He isn’t sure why he lived through his near-death experience or why he recovered fully, but his background in brain science, combined with his newfound spirituality, has made him want to educate others. “I am simply the messenger about this different way of looking at things,” he said. “I have come to see things such as illness, hardship, disease in a different light. Everything is an opportunity for growth.”

A skeptic turned believer. Humans are not “in the ballpark to be judging whether God or heaven exist,” Alexander says. In the book, he shares, “it’s like trying to write a novel with only half the alphabet.”